


¯\_(ツ)_/¯

by imnothere121



Category: Original Work
Genre: Child Abuse, Fantasy, Gen, Supernatural Elements, Tags Subject to Change, Urban Fantasy, Vampires, some violence, uhhhhh idk other stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-15
Updated: 2018-11-14
Packaged: 2019-08-23 20:28:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16625879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imnothere121/pseuds/imnothere121
Summary: Long ago, supernatural creatures revealed themselves to humans. Now, Amelia Smith, vampire, just wants to run her bookshop and live in peace and avoid thinking about her past. But a young boy being attacked in her store acts as a catalyst for a series of events that will change everything.





	¯\_(ツ)_/¯

**Author's Note:**

> uhhh i started this last year in my creative writing class for nanowrimo and i guess???? i'll post it now??????
> 
> pls let me know if you spot typos and shit

Some of Amelia’s favorite books were written by human authors long before supernatural creatures revealed themselves to the world. Though she had been taught that the Council (made up of leaders from all races of Supernatural creatures) decided to reveal themselves because they didn’t want humans to find out about them accidentally and start a war, Amelia liked to think that part of it was that the Council was sick of how their races were being portrayed by human writers. 

Honestly, the idea that vampires would immediately burn up the second they stepped outside was laughable. Vampires were only mildly nocturnal, with sensitive eyes and easily sunburnt skin. And their only source of sustenance being blood? Please. While blood was a vampire’s main source of nutrients (and remains a bit of a necessity), vampires  _ can _ live off of normal food (not very comfortably and not as long, but living). But, nevertheless, whenever Amelia had any free time she could be found curled up in an armchair reading whatever was closest to her that day. Sometimes it was one of the classics, sometimes it was an old history book, other times it was a trashy novella with the most inaccurate descriptions of vampires in the world that she was rereading for the fifth time, just because it was there.

On the morning of September 8th, 1955, Amelia was in her usual place in the library, wearing a dress she had bought on her last diplomatic trip to America, her blonde hair pulled into a neat bun. A ring with her family crest sparkled on her right hand. On the other side of the library, the door opened with a barely audible creak. Well, barely audible to human ears. To a vampire as old as Amelia was, the door might as well have slammed against the wall. Brown eyes stayed glued to the book in front of her as the light footsteps of someone clearly trying to stay undetected crept closer. Red lips shifted into a soft smile as the footsteps halted behind a bookshelf to her left.

The person behind the bookshelf slowly moved behind Amelia’s chair. For a moment there was complete silence.

“BOO!” Amelia exaggerated her surprise and jumped out of her chair, only to turn and be tackled by a small child who would’ve appeared to be eight years old to a human. She let him knock her to the floor and laughter rang out in the usually quiet room.

“Elias!” Amelia exclaimed between laughs. “You scared me, little brother.” She said fondly, tucking a lock of brown hair behind the young boy’s ear. Elias sat up and moved so he was sitting on Amelia’s legs.

“I know!” He yelled. “I knew I could do it! Myra said I would never be able to sneak up on you cause you’re the oldest and I’m not even fifty yet, but I did it!” Amelia laughed, but her smile became slightly strained. Why her sister had to take every opportunity to discourage their brother, she’d never know. But she shook her discomfort off.

“Well you sure showed her! But,” Amelia sat up with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Can you escape….” She paused. “The tickle monster!” Her hands darted out lightning fast and grabbed his sides. Elias squealed loudly and tried in vain to pull away from the fingers wriggling at his sides. Their laughter echoed around the large room, masking the clacking of heels on the hardwood floors. Their fun was finally interrupted by someone loudly clearing their throat above them. They both startled and looked up before both scrambling to their feet. “Mother.” Amelia stood up a little straighter, lifted her chin a little higher, and tried to look the part of the crown princess. “We were just-”

“I could very well tell what you were doing,” the queen interrupted with a wave of her hand. Amelia’s mouth snapped shut with an audible clack of her teeth and she could see Elias flinch slightly next to her. “You and your brother would do well to actually act the part of royalty. Or endeavor to do this more quietly.” Her mouth twitched slightly into a smirk and Amelia relaxed. The queen continued with her light scolding. “I swear I could hear the two of you from the throne room.”

“Apologies your Majesty,” Amelia said, bowing slightly. “It won’t happen again.” 

“Oh, I highly doubt that.” The queen finally let a full smile grace her face. An intimidating woman with the same dark hair as her son and piercing blue eyes, Queen Constantina wore fashions more common among the noble vampires than what Amelia wore. That is to say, she appeared as if she were walking around in Victorian-era London, despite those fashions becoming uncommon in the past 50 years. She turned and started walking away from her two children, a silent command to follow her. “Breakfast should be ready by now. Let’s hope your sister is in as good a mood as the two of you today.”

As children Myra and Amelia had been close. They were only about a decade apart in age, as opposed to the just over two centuries between Amelia and Elias. They got in and out of all sorts of trouble in the castle, would always be making up some new game. Several times they had disguised themselves as normal citizens and snuck out to the marketplace. Myra even used to join Amelia in the library, either studying or chatting away while Amelia read.

Then Myra grew older and colder. She never visited the library, never wanted to walk the castle grounds, and would only go to the marketplace as Princess Myra, second in line to the throne. She scorned Amelia for interacting with humans, wearing modern fashions, or reading books brought by travelers from outside the kingdom. Once Elias was born, he was treated more or less the same way, never allowing him to behave as the child he was.

Unsurprisingly, Myra was not in a good mood.

The moment Elias, Amelia, and their mother entered the dining room, Myra’s perpetual scowl deepened. She had their mother’s dark hair and was wearing similar, yet more extravagant clothes. Oblivious to Myra’s bad mood, Elias raced to where she was seated at the table and tugged on the skirt of her dress.

“Myra, Myra, I told you I could do it! I told you I could sneak up on Amelia!” He shouted. Myra’s upper lip began to curl as he continued. “I scared her good, didn’t I Amelia?! Didn’t I?!?!” Keeping a careful eye on Myra’s disposition, Amelia smiled down at her brother and started pulling him away from their ill tempered sister and towards his seat on the other side of the table.

“Yes you did, baby brother. I’m very proud of you.” She booped him on the nose and then hoisted him onto his chair. She ruffled his hair before taking her seat next to him, to the left of the head of the table. Constantina sat across from her.

“Well,” she said, looking at the spread of breakfast foods on the table as their faithful butler, Hob finished setting it. “This all looks delicious, Hob.” 

“Thank you, your Majesty.” Hob bowed slightly before turning and walking back towards the kitchens.

“Now, if only your father could actually be on time for a meal fo-”

“She let you sneak up on her.” Three pairs of eyes snapped to Myra, who was glaring at Elias. “She’s 250 years old, do you really think a little 25 year-old could ever sneak up on one of the oldest vampires alive?” She said bitterly. Amelia looked at Elias who was now looking down at his plate. 

“Myra-” Amelia started.

“Sister, you shouldn’t be letting him win all the time.” Myra said. She started helping herself to the food on the table. “He needs to know what the world is really like.”

“That’s unfair of you, Myra,” Amelia started. “I did the same when you were-”

“So it’s true?” A small wobbly voice made Amelia’s attention turn back to Elias. He was looking up at her, big blue eyes filling with tears. “You only let me sneak up on you? I didn’t really?” His bottom lip started quivering.

“I…” Amelia found herself at a loss for words, looking down at her baby brother. “Elias, I-”

“I’m not very hungry.” Elias said, turning his face back down towards his plate. “Mother, may I please be excused?”

“You may, darling.” Constantina said softly. Before she was even done speaking, Elias had hopped down from his chair and was running from the room, tears falling down his cheeks. King Maximillian entered the room, late for breakfast as usual, and looked after his son bemusedly. 

“Did something happen?” Unfortunately his question went ignored.

“Why do you always do this to him?” Amelia demanded. “What did he do to deserve you always ruining whatever he’s happy about?”

“He needs a sense of reality,” Myra said, not even looking up from her plate. “You always doing this is only going to hurt him in the long run.” She speared a sausage on her fork and pointed it at Amelia. “I’m only looking out for him.” She took a bite.

“He’s a child,” Amelia hissed. “Let him be a child.” She looked back to her mother. “Mother may I be excused as well?” At her mother’s nod Amelia left in search of her brother, kissing her father on the cheek as she left.

He looked after her and then at his wife, who was staring at his younger daughter, then at his daughter, who was smiling to herself as she enjoyed the food in front of her. He shook his head, sat down, started filling his plate, and said, “I don’t even want to know.”

There was silence for a few moments before Constantina spoke up.

“She has a point, you know.” She began filling her own plate as well.

“What do you mean, Mother?” Myra looked up from her plate with a calculated indifference.

“She did the same with you when you were his age.”

Amelia walked quickly through the castle with a single-minded determination, ignoring the bowing staff around her. As she approached the stables, her pace slowed and she took a few cautious steps inside. She listened carefully. A small sniffle came from the loft above her. With a sigh, Amelia slowly climbed the wooden stairs and carefully stepped towards her brother where he was curled up on a pile of hay, crying softly into his crossed arms.

“Go ‘way.” He said, sniffling again. Amelia shook her head and sat down gingerly next to him. She simply sat next to him, not saying anything, not reaching out, just watching him. After a while, the young boy lifted his head up to look at his sister. “Why’d you pretend?” He asked, voice small.

“Elias…” Amelia stopped, sighed, and started again. “I’m sorry. I know you don’t want me babying you but you are my little brother.” She reached out and picked some straw out of his hair. “I don’t want to upset you, and you always look so happy when you beat me.” Her hand moved from his hair down to his shoulder. “I just want you to be happy, to be able to be a child while you still are one.”

“But I’m not a child.” He said. “Not by human standards. Humans are adults at eighteen.”

“You forget that we age slower than humans.” Amelia tilted Elias’s chin up so she could look him in the eye. “You are a vampire. So you are still a child by vampire standards.” He had stopped crying but Elias was still pouting. Amelia took a handkerchief from the folds of her dress and wiped the tear tracks from his cheeks before holding it against his nose. “Blow.” He did and the handkerchief was returned to the folds of her dress. “Now come here.” Elias climbed into his sister’s lap and Amelia cradled his head against her chest. She pressed a soft kiss to his head. “I will never purposefully hurt you. Okay? I’m going to protect you no matter what.”

They sat like that for a while until Elias fell asleep. Amelia stood up with her brother in her arms and walked back towards the castle. There was hay on her dress and mud on her shoes, but she couldn’t bring herself to care about it at the moment. No doubt her mother would mention it later anyway.

She stopped by Elias’s quarters and set him down in his bed, still sleeping. She slowly exited the room and gently closed the door, so as not to wake him up and turned to see her mother waiting for her.

“Mother,” Amelia greeted her, inclining her head slightly.

“He fell asleep on you at the stables.” It wasn’t a question, but Amelia nodded her confirmation anyway. “Hmm. How upset was he?” Despite addressing Amelia, Queen Constantina’s focus remained on the door. 

“He was still crying when I got there, but he calmed down quickly.” Amelia said. “I don’t think he’ll still be upset when he wakes up.” At least, she hoped. Constantina pursed her lips for a moment, considering.

“I will speak to your sister,” She said. “Hopefully, her attitude will improve and she’ll stop behaving this way with him.” Constantina turned her gaze back to Amelia. “I will be here so that I can speak to him as well, when he wakes up. Your father has some important business to attend to. You will have to hold court in the meantime. Do tidy yourself up beforehand.”

“Yes Mother,” Amelia said bowing. She walked away from her mother and prepared herself for a long day.

The rest of the day actually turned out to be uneventful. Amelia listened to petitions from the people for about three hours and then was left to her own devices for the rest of the day, which she used to help Elias with assignments from his tutor, finish the book she had been reading that morning, and just generally avoid her sister.

As midnight approached, Amelia returned to her quarters and changed into a flowy chiffon nightgown. She sat at her vanity, let her hair down and began brushing the long blonde locks. For a moment she looked outside her window, watching the light rain that had just started to pick up.

Then the screams started.

In seconds Amelia had jumped from her chair, raced across her room and flung open her door. She ran barefoot through the palace trying to find the source of the screams. As the screams grew louder and she realized where they were coming from, Amelia pushed herself faster, becoming more desperate with every step. In her head, she was repeating a never ending mantra of  _ no, no, no, what’s going on, why are they screaming _ . As she ran the screams reached the  peak of a crescendo and then stopped. Amelia halted for a moment in the sudden stillness, shocked. Then she ran harder than she ever had before, unable to hear anything besides the slapping of her feet on the floor echoing through the halls. She didn’t stop for anything even when the screams picked back up all across the palace.

Amelia reached her parents quarters in record time, only to find a small group of men in armor standing outside their door. There were four of them, clearly vampires, and they all had bloody weapons at their hips. One of them, more than likely their leader, had a dagger on his belt and held a sack in one hand, blood dripping through the fabric. As she slowed to a stop, the intruders turned to her, fiendish grins on their faces.

“Well, well, well,” the presumed leader said. “Lookie what we have here, boys. The crown princess herself.” His grin grew wider, revealing his fangs. He drew his sword and pointed it at her. “The mistress wanted her heart most of all. Get her.” At his command, the three men at his sides all drew their weapons and charged.

Amelia let her fangs drop and met them halfway. She knocked one man’s sword out of his hand right off the bat and grabbed his neck. The claws on her hands that were once nails dug into his flesh and with one swift motion, she tore his throat open. The other two attempted to attack her from the sides but she ducked out of the way, feeling a sword whiz right by her head. Amelia quickly dove for the sword she had knocked out of the now-dead intruder’s head and spun around quickly. With one strong swing, she cut off the head of the soldier closest to her. The other rushed her, only to be met with the same fate. Amelia turned around and narrowed her eyes at the leader.

“You have the gall to invade my home,” she spat in an uncharacteristic show of anger. “But you can’t be bothered to bring men who actually know how to fight?” The man simply smirked.

“Perhaps they were no match for you. But,” he held up the bloody sack tauntingly. “They seemed to be more than enough to handle your parents.”

Amelia gasped, eyes wide as saucers. But, as the man in front of her’s smirk returned to the grin from before, Amelia’s horror faded into anger. Amelia growled and leaped forward, taking the mysterious man by surprise. She tackled him to the ground and for a few moments, they scrapped. By the end of it, though, Amelia ended up on top of him, his dagger in her hand which she plunged into his throat. She felt it pierce the marble of the floor on the other side. She uncurled her fingers from the hilt and stood unsteadily. She raised her eyes from the dying ones of the man below her to her parent’s door.

A moment later the door was thrown open and Amelia took two steps forward before freezing in place. She fell to her knees at the grisly sight in front of her and stared. She couldn’t look away. Her parent’s bodies were left on the floor, chest cavities open. From what she could see, her father’s was cleanly opened. He was dead beforehand. But her mother… Amelia finally tore her eyes away from her mother’s mangled corpse and stood once again, forcing herself to focus. If these intruders wanted her, her mother, and her father’s hearts, she had to find her siblings and protect them. It was her duty as their older sister. And now their Queen.

She raced through the halls once again, dispatching anyone who got in her path on her way to Elias’s quarters.  He would’ve been asleep by now. Questions flitted through her mind. Did he hear the screams? Did they wake him? Did he know what had happened? Did they already get him? Had he gone to investigate as she had? As she approached she found Hob lying in the hall, dead. She stepped over him and rushed to the door, trying to open it as she had her parents’ only to find it barred from the other side.

“Elias?” Amelia called through the door. “Elias, are you in there?” She slammed her palm against the heavy wood of the door. “Elias, open up, it’s me, it’s your sister!” She was met with silence once again. “Elias!” Her final exclamation sounded more like a sob than anything else. She rested her head against the door, accepting defeat. She was about to step away when a small voice drifted to her ears from the other side of the door.

“Prove it.” It was faint, but it was clearly Elias and Amelia could’ve cried with relief.

“Elias!” Amelia wracked her brain for something she could say. “Remember that time I took you into the marketplace. We were in disguise, do you remember? We went to the candy shop. I bought you as much as you wanted, but that was how we got caught by Mother. You were bouncing off the walls for hours.” That had been a great day, but there was a new pain in Amelia’s chest when she recalled her mother’s fond scolding, not being able to keep a straight face with her son being as energetic as he was. There was silence on the other side of the door.

“I remember,” came the small response. Amelia listened to the bar being lifted and the door slowly opened. The moment she could see her brother’s entire body, she wrapped him in her arms.

“Oh, Elias, thank god.” She pulled away from him and held him at arm's length, hands on his shoulders. “Are you alright? Are you hurt? What happened?” Elias blinked a few times.

“I’m okay, I think. I’m not hurt. I left my room when the screams started, but Hob brought me back and told me to stay in my room with the door barred and not to let anyone in unless I knew it was really them or if it was him. He gave me a question to ask him when he came back.” Elias finished with a small nod of his head. His story made Amelia remember the grisly scene right outside Elias’s door. He didn’t seem to have seen Hob’s body yet, but Amelia needed to get him moving so they could find Myra, and there was no way to do that without him seeing something. Her heart broke a little bit.

“Hob’s gone Elias.” Amelia said, voice barely a whisper. “He’s dead. So are mother and father. And we will be too, if we don’t find Myra and escape.” For the second time that day, Elias looked up at his sister with tear-filled eyes.

“Wha-what…” he said weakly. “What do you mean, dead? Mother and Father… they can’t be dead. They’re…” tears started falling down his cheeks. “And Hob… he saved me. He-” Elias cut himself off. “Who’s going to teach me our history now?” The innocent question made Amelia’s heart break a little more.

“I don’t know.” She said. “But if we don’t start moving, you’ll never have to learn our history because you’ll be dead.” She hated having to be so blunt, but they had to move. They had to find Myra. Elias nodded hesitantly and she took his hand. “Close your eyes.” He did. Amelia stood to her full height and pulled Elias down the hallway like that until Hob’s body was out of view. “You can open now.”

The moment Elias’s eyes were open, Amelia picked up her pace, pulling her brother along with her, gradually increasing their speed into a run. They ran to Myra’s quarters meeting no resistance. Which was… strange, to say the least. They approached to see Myra’s door open and rushed through. Myra was standing near her fireplace, still fully dressed. This room was one of few that were right on the cliffs. One large window was open, letting in the rain, which was coming down much harder than before. Lightning flashed and a loud thunderclap rang out.

“Myra!” Amelia exclaimed, relief coursing through her entire body. Her white knuckle grip on Elias’s hand lessened slightly. “Oh, thank god you’re alright.” Myra arched an elegant brow.

“Why wouldn’t I be, dear sister?” Amelia stared at her in disbelief. She stepped forward, letting go of Elias’s hand entirely.

“What are you talking about?” Amelia asked incredulously. “Haven’t you heard the screaming?” Amelia took another few steps forward. All of her focus was on Myra. She didn’t notice the intruder entering the room. “Myra, there are intruders in the castle, they’ve already killed Mother and Father. We have to escape, gather our army, and take back the castle.”

“And why would I do that?” Myra asked. A yelp behind her caused Amelia to look back at her brother. The intruder had grabbed him from behind and now held a knife to his throat. Amelia stood side face, halfway between her two siblings. She looked back to her sister, who now had the barest traces of a grin on her face. “After all, this is going exactly as I planned.”

Time seemed to stop. Amelia felt like she had just been doused in ice water. Two more of the intruders came up behind Amelia and grabbed her by the arms, holding her in place.

“You…” Amelia could barely speak. “How… Why? Why would you do this?” Slowly her shock turned into anger. “Our parents-”

“Were weak.” Myra said simply. “They were not fit to rule, nor are you for that matter. The vampires need a new ruler. A strong ruler. One who is willing to do what it takes to improve our world.” Amelia scoffed.

“And I’m guessing you’re that ruler.”

“I am.” Myra moved so that she stood just in front of Amelia, who struggled against the people holding her. “I am willing to do whatever I must to help our people. I will bring about a new age, where vampires rule.” Myra lifted her hand to Amelia’s cheek. “This doesn’t have to be any more bloody than it already is. Abdicate. Swear fealty to me, and neither of you will be harmed.” Amelia’s lip curled.

“I would die first.” She snarled.

“Hmm.” Myra made a contemplative noise. “Unfortunate. Disappointing, yet not altogether unexpected.” Myra drew her hand back away from her sister’s face and took a few steps backward. “Either way you will not be the one ‘dying first’ as you said.” Myra nodded to the man holding Elias. Amelia gasped and struggled more against the men holding her.

“No! No, no, no, Myra don’t do this!” Amelia almost succeeded in yanking herself free.

“Too late.” Myra replied coolly. There was the slide of metal against flesh and then a thump of a body hitting the floor.

Amelia’s heart shattered. The men holding her released her arms as her legs gave out and she collapsed to her knees. Sobs wracked her body as she crawled over to Elias and cradled him in her arms. Above her, Myra spoke.

“So sad.” She said. “How unfortunate that our castle was attacked by a pack of feral vampires, and that they killed the King, the Queen, the Crown Princess, and the young Prince, leaving only the middle child alive due to the private guard she employed. I’m sure vampires across the world will mourn for months.”

The guards began to close in on Amelia, ready to strike the final blow. Amelia looked up at them. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the open window. She looked back down at her brother and fury bubbled up inside of her.  _ I will not let them kill me, _ she thought.  _ If I die, it will not be by your hand _ . The men around her drew their weapons. Amelia took a deep breath, slowly stood…

And ran to the window. She jumped out falling down the side of the cliffs. The soldiers rushed towards the window and watched her fall.

“Mistress, should we-”

“No, don’t bother.” Myra interrupted. “No one could survive that fall, not even my sister. We will tell the people the truth about her at least. She threw herself from the window upon seeing her beloved brother die.” She turned from her men and moved over to her desk. “Tell your men to finish off the rest of the staff. Leave only my people alive. I have a speech to draft.” She sat and pulled out a quill, inkwell, and a piece of parchment.

“Yes, Mistress.”

“Not ‘Mistress.” Myra said, the corners of her mouth twitching. “Call me ‘your majesty’.”

At the bottom of the cliff, Amelia took stock of which bones she had broken. The pain was terrible but she could already feel herself healing. Soon, she would be able to move again. Amelia couldn’t decide if her being alive was a blessing or a curse. Whichever it was, she had to leave before Myra found out she was alive. She had to go into hiding. She could never come back.

So that’s what she did. She fled to America, where she started a new life.


End file.
